Curacao, December 23, 2008- Present

We have been in Curacao, the next island after Bonaire, since just before Christmas. It's another beautiful Dutch island in the West Indies. We anchored in an area called Spaanse Water—Spanish Waters. It's a very international community with many Dutch making this their home. We have met sailors from Germany, Australia, Tasmania, Sweden—the list goes on. One can get most anything here from boat parts to food to other supplies which is one reason it's such a popular place. Also there are competent people who can help diagnose and repair boats, a constant issue for boaters.

We celebrated Christmas and New Years with our good friends Jason and Karen on YOLO. Trying to get started on the boat issues was futile as most people were on holiday. We did, however, have one stroke of luck when we ventured to town riding various busses and walking distances between them—the usual routine--in search of “Carlos” who we learned could test our fuel injectors. Although the business looked closed, a walk to the back of the business turned him up, one of about three people working that day. He not only tested the equipment for us, but did it for free since no one was in the office to tell him the charge. A lucky day!!

On January 9th, our friends the Dariens from Marble, Colorado, arrived. We had rented a car from Imke, a fellow who does many things for yachties, by merely telling him our name and giving him $25. No paperwork. No need to show insurance or driver's license. Just the money and a promise to fill the tank to its present capacity. Oh, well. It worked for us.

This was Larry's and Dana 's third visit on the boat so they knew the drill. When the windy weather settled down, we sailed up the coast to Groot Knip. However, anchoring was not permitted there nor were there any mooring balls. (We had had to make a trip to the harbormaster to outline our travels and get permission to go where we intended. However, the harbormaster did not know about whether there were mooring balls in Groot Knip.) So back down the coast we went until we got to Santa Cruz—a lovely beach. Our YOLO friends joined us later on their way to Aruba. We all snorkeled a bit there and visited another nearby beach with a friendly little beach bar. A few days later we moved down to Santa Marta. Another pretty beach beckoned us, but we would have had to pay to use it. It was part of the resort there. We stayed a few days and were lucky enough to find a fisherman who gave us—yes, gave—us four Wahoo steaks. They were delicious. Despite our efforts to get fish, it has been relatively uncommon to find and be able to buy fresh fish. We learned that there are lots of fish 400-600 feet deep, but of course, we don't fish that deep so we don't catch any.
A return to Spanish Waters on Friday, January 23rd, allowed us to have dinner at the highly touted Equus restaurant. It's only open on Fridays! We all loved it—skewers of melt-in-your-mouth steak or chicken with garlic bread is the entire menu, of course, with wine or some other drink. We now knew why our friends insisted that it's one of the best restaurants in Curacao.
Before the Dariens left, we rented the car again and toured the island. True to the ABC climate,

the island is arid with lots of large cactus covering it. It too is a haven for flamingoes. We decided not to visit the normal tourist places and just enjoyed driving around the island.

The bananaquits are plentiful here and the oriole is the national bird.

The Dutch influence is charming and most prevalent in Willemstad, the capital, where old buildings are being restored and painted bright colors.

The Venezuelan floating market in Punda was a draw for its fresh, delicious vegetables.

Now, we are waiting for sail and engine repairs hoping to move on within the next couple of weeks.